Tonight is Nico’s charity event, and I’ve gone all out. Hair, nails, and makeup. The works. Even my body has been buffed, waxed, and plucked. I’ve chosen a backless champagne A-line dress with a sweetheart neckline, thin spaghetti straps, a flowy skirt that falls just below my knee, and glittering geometric embellishments that accentuate my curves.
I am incredibly nervous to show up with Nico. I’ve seen pictures of the women he’s taken to events in the past, and I’m feeling a little inadequate. I’m a doctor who spends her days in scrubs, taking care of sick children. And as much as my job is exhausting, I love it.
But let me tell you, at the end of a very long shift, the last thing I want to do is put on makeup, fancy clothes, and shoes that bring more pain than beauty.
“Savannah?” Nico knocks on the bedroom door, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts.
“Be right there,” I shout back.
You got this.
With a deep inhale, to help calm my nerves, I grab my clutch off the bed and make my way to the living room, where my date awaits.
My stomach trips over itself as I find Nico staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the view. And what a view it is. In a sleek custom black suit, Nico looks sinfully sexy.
“Okay, I’m ready.” My heart pounds in my throat; I’m so nervous.
Nico turns around, and he practically chokes on his words. “Fucking hell.”
“That bad?” I can’t help self-consciously brushing a jittery hand down my dress.
His gray eyes darken, and he licks his lips hungrily. “If wanting to ditch tonight so I can stay home and rip that dress off you is bad, then fuck yes. So fucking bad. Atrocious. Terrible.”
“Stop.” My cheeks flame as Nico’s gaze roams over me, giving me goosebumps.
“Never. Now spin.”
I do as I’m told and slowly turn, giving him a full look at the dress.
“You’re fucking gorgeous.” Like a predator, Nico prowls towards me. In what I now consider his go-to move, he grips the back of my neck and pulls me in for a sweet kiss to my pink-stained lips. “I don’t know how I’m going to keep my hands off you.”
“I think you’ve been doing a good job so far,” I tease, tugging his thick chain. “But maybe we can play doctor tonight?”
We’ve spent the last two nights sharing the same bed, and all we’ve done is kiss and fool around like a couple of teenagers. Not that I’m complaining about our steamy make-out sessions. Or his hand-delivered orgasms.
But I’m ready for more.
Nico growls. “Time to go,mia gattina viziosa.”My vicious kitten.
I inwardly grin, proud of myself for understanding his Italian.
“Breathe,gattina,” Nico whispers in my ear as he places his hand on the small of my back and leads me into the lofted event space where tonight’s dinner and auction are being held.
“I’m trying.” Aside from the annual fundraiser held by Mercy Hospital, I haven’t attended an event like this since I lived in San Francisco.
My mother required our attendance at every function imaginable, but stuff like this was never my thing. Bradley loved to be the spectacle. He considered charity events as an opportunity to network.
I fight the urge to fidget. “Everyone is staring.”
“They’re staring because you’re the most beautiful woman in the room. And probably the smartest too.”
I melt like butter at his compliment and smile up at him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Nico’s hand never leaves my back as he grabs a champagne flute off the tray of a passing server and hands it to me. “We can leave whenever you want.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. This is your event, and it’s important. I’m okay.”
There is no way I would make Nico leave. On the ride over, he filled me in on how his charity helps pay for registration and equipment fees for single parents who can’t afford to put their children in community sports programs and has now branched out to assist children in foster families and orphanages.
